Texas Legal Land Description Guide

Texas is the one state in the American West where most land is not described using the Public Land Survey System. When Texas joined the United States in 1845, it retained ownership of its public lands — unlike every other western state, where the federal government held title and surveyed land under PLSS. That single fact shaped how Texans describe land to this day.

Understanding this distinction matters whether you are a landman working the Permian Basin, an attorney examining a mineral title in East Texas, or a GIS analyst building a lease database that spans the Texas-New Mexico border.

The Texas Abstract and Survey System

Most Texas land is identified by Abstract Number and Survey Name, both issued by the Texas General Land Office (GLO). This system originated with Spanish and Mexican land grants issued before Texas statehood, continued through the Republic of Texas era, and persists in every Texas county courthouse today.

A typical Texas legal description reads:

200 acres out of the W.B. Rogers Survey, Abstract No. 475, Midland County, Texas

Or for oil and gas work:

NW/4 of the T.J. Borden Survey, Abs. 89, Upton County, Texas

The survey name identifies the original grantee of the land patent. Abstract numbers are unique within each county and link back to the original patent in GLO records. Unlike PLSS, there is no statewide coordinate grid — each survey is a separate polygon with its own boundaries defined by metes and bounds calls.

Where PLSS Appears in Texas Work

Although the Abstract/Survey system governs most Texas land, PLSS descriptions appear in specific contexts that professionals encounter regularly:

Federal land: Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service parcels in Texas — including portions of the Trans-Pecos and Davis Mountains region — carry PLSS descriptions using the New Mexico Principal Meridian. Federal mineral ownership records on these parcels reference Township, Range, and Section.

Cross-state Permian Basin operations: Oil and gas operators working across the Texas-New Mexico border encounter both systems in the same project. The New Mexico side of the Delaware Basin uses the New Mexico Principal Meridian:

Section 14, Township 25 South, Range 31 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian

The equivalent Texas side describes land using Abstract numbers and survey names. Managing both in the same lease database is routine for Delaware Basin operators.

Adjacent state descriptions: The Oklahoma Panhandle — immediately north of the Texas Panhandle — is surveyed under the Cimarron Meridian. Where royalty interests or surface agreements span the state line, you may encounter Cimarron Meridian PLSS descriptions alongside Texas abstract numbers in the same file.

Oil and Gas: Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville

Texas produces more oil and gas than any other state. The major plays each follow the Abstract/Survey format, but operators crossing state lines need PLSS fluency too.

Texas Railroad Commission Well Locations

The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) regulates oil and gas in Texas and uses the Abstract/Survey system for all well locations. A TRC well location is specified as footage from survey lines:

660 FNL, 660 FEL, T.J. Borden Survey, Abs. 89, Upton County, Texas

This means 660 feet from the north survey line and 660 feet from the east survey line of the named survey. TRC filings do not use Township-Range-Section notation. If you receive a well location in this format and need coordinates, you need to resolve it against the GLO survey boundaries for that survey.

Permian Basin Cross-State Work

The Permian Basin spans West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Operators in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins work with Texas abstract descriptions on the Texas side and New Mexico PLSS descriptions on the New Mexico side. Converting both systems to coordinates lets you verify that lease maps and wellbore trajectories are consistent across the state line.

Eagle Ford Shale

The Eagle Ford fairway runs across South Texas from Webb County to DeWitt County. Well locations use the Abstract/Survey system throughout. Survey names in this area often reflect 19th-century land grants to railroad companies, empresario colonies, or individual settlers — context that matters when tracing the chain of title back through GLO records.

Mineral Rights in Texas

Texas has an active severed mineral estate market. Mineral deeds, oil and gas leases, and royalty conveyances all reference the Abstract/Survey system. When examining mineral title in Texas, you trace conveyances through the county deed records using abstract numbers and survey names.

Unlike Oklahoma or Colorado — where a Township-Range-Section lookup quickly confirms a parcel's physical location — Texas mineral descriptions require matching abstract numbers to GLO survey boundaries. This is a separate spatial step that PLSS-trained landmen encounter when they first work in Texas.

For professionals who work across both PLSS states and Texas, maintaining clarity about which description system applies to each parcel is essential for accurate title work.

Common Texas Legal Description Formats

County deed record:

All of that certain tract or parcel of land out of the W.B. Rogers Survey,
Abstract No. 475, in Midland County, Texas, being more particularly
described as follows: [metes and bounds calls]

TRC drilling permit:

660 FNL, 660 FEL, T.J. Borden Survey, Abs. 89, Upton Co., TX

Royalty deed:

An undivided 1/32 mineral interest in and under the SE/4 of the
Sam Houston Survey, Abs. 321, Karnes County, Texas

Federal mineral description (BLM land in West Texas):

T. 7 S., R. 18 W., N.M.P.M., Sec. 4, SW¼SW¼

All four formats describe specific parcels, but they require different lookup methods. The county deed record and royalty deed resolve through GLO survey boundaries. The TRC permit resolves through survey-line footage. The federal BLM description resolves through the PLSS grid.

Tips for Working with Texas Land Descriptions

1. Confirm the system before looking anything up. Abstract descriptions include a survey name and "Abs. XXX" or "Abstract No. XXX" — that signals the Texas GLO system. If you see Township, Range, and Section, it is PLSS, most likely for federal land or a cross-state description.
2. Use GLO records for survey boundaries. The Texas General Land Office maintains historical survey plats at glo.texas.gov. Survey boundaries are the foundation for all Abstract/Survey spatial work.
3. Cross-state work requires both systems. If you manage leases spanning into New Mexico, Oklahoma, or Louisiana, you need PLSS conversion for the non-Texas portions. The New Mexico PLSS converter handles the Delaware Basin's New Mexico side.
4. Know the TRC footage format. TRC well locations specify footage from survey lines, not from section lines as in PLSS states. Converting these to coordinates requires knowing the survey boundaries, not just reading a grid.
5. Federal BLM land uses PLSS. For federal mineral ownership records anywhere in West Texas, expect PLSS descriptions referencing the New Mexico Principal Meridian. These follow standard PLSS format and convert the same way as any other PLSS description.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Texas use the PLSS?

Most Texas land does not use the Public Land Survey System. Texas retained its public lands when it joined the United States in 1845, so the federal government never surveyed the state under PLSS. Instead, Texas uses the Abstract and Survey system administered by the Texas General Land Office. The exception is federal land in West Texas — BLM and US Forest Service parcels carry PLSS descriptions under the New Mexico Principal Meridian. Cross-state operations into New Mexico and Oklahoma also require PLSS fluency.

How do I read a Texas legal land description?

A Texas legal description identifies land by Survey Name and Abstract Number rather than Section, Township, and Range. Look for the original grantee's name (the survey name) and "Abs." or "Abstract No." followed by a number. These are unique within each county and trace back to the original GLO land patent. If you see Township, Range, and Section in a Texas context, it refers to federal land or a cross-state description from an adjacent PLSS state — not the Texas Abstract/Survey system.

What principal meridians apply to Texas land?

Two principal meridians are relevant to Texas work. The New Mexico Principal Meridian governs BLM and federal land in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, and it also covers the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin's Delaware sub-basin. The Cimarron Meridian governs the Oklahoma Panhandle, which borders the Texas Panhandle — relevant when royalty interests or surface agreements span the state line. Neither meridian applies to the Abstract/Survey land that makes up the vast majority of Texas.

How do I convert a Texas legal description to GPS coordinates?

For Abstract/Survey descriptions, you resolve the parcel against the GLO survey boundaries at glo.texas.gov. There is no statewide grid — each survey is an independent polygon. For PLSS descriptions that appear in Texas work — federal BLM parcels or cross-state references into New Mexico or Oklahoma — you can convert those directly using a PLSS converter. Enter the Section, Township, Range, and principal meridian, and get latitude and longitude coordinates back immediately.

What is the difference between the Texas Abstract/Survey system and PLSS?

PLSS organizes land into a uniform grid of townships and ranges, each containing 36 numbered sections of approximately 640 acres. Any parcel can be located by its Section, Township, Range, and principal meridian. The Texas Abstract/Survey system predates this grid. Each survey is an individually bounded polygon identified by the original grantee's name and an abstract number. PLSS lets you calculate approximate parcel locations from the description alone. Texas Abstract/Survey descriptions require the actual survey boundary data from GLO records to determine a parcel's physical location.

Convert PLSS Descriptions from Texas Federal Land and Cross-State Work

When your Texas work involves federal land descriptions or cross-border references into New Mexico or Oklahoma, Township America covers both. The New Mexico Principal Meridian and Cimarron Meridian — the two systems most relevant to Texas boundary work — are fully supported across all townships and sections.

Enter a PLSS description from any of the 30 PLSS states and get coordinates back immediately.

Try the PLSS Converter